Relation
by trapt-tage
Summary: Oneshot. Every once and a while, there comes a question that Takahashi Ryosuke needs to sit and think about before the answer comes to him. The question: 'What on Earth is Keisuke doing' is one of the most common examples.


Disclaimer: I don't own Initial D.

AN: Well, this is my first foray into Initial D fan fiction, and I think it's quasi-drabble-ish, but I kinda like it, even if it does have very little sense of direction.

* * *

_What could he be doing?_

For some reason, even when Takahashi Ryosuke would find himself studying something _other _than cars, like the material for his midterms, he wouldn't fully be able to concentrate. It wasn't that he was _totally_ obsessed with cars or racing, but that racing and cars had something to do with _Keisuke_. If Ry was studying medicinal science, how could he relate that to K.T.? At least with cars it was a reminder of the younger boy. So that was it. Takahashi Ry wasn't obsessed with cars; he was obsessed with his little brother. Which made thoughts like, 'Where is he?' all the more common in Ry's head.

After having enough of not being able to fully devote himself to his work, the older brother finally looked up from his textbook from where it was sitting on the kitchen counter, and peered out the window at the driveway below. He had finished reading over the section twice - with notes - anyway. If he needed anymore studying, he'd catch up on it later.

The sight that greeted him from outside of the window though, was a bit of a surprise for the older boy, and his eyebrows furrowed in confusion. Apparently, the question of 'Where is Takahashi Keisuke?' had been answered. Outside, Ry could see his brother's bright yellow FD sitting in the driveway below, while its owner dragged the "burn barrel" out of the garage. The barrel was basically just a metal garbage can that their father had used to burn trash, or occasionally had a cook out on when they were little. The boys had always liked watching the fire for a few minutes each time their father got it going, but they would eventually tire with the idea of just burning garbage, and they would leave to find something else - like cars - to entertain them. What his brother could be doing with such a childhood relic was beyond Ry, and it had caught his curiosity by the nose. Besides, his brother's actions were always interesting to him.

From the second floor window, Ry could see K.T. disappear into the garage, but couldn't help but close his textbook for good, and lean in closer to the glass. His brother had already moved out of all range of sight.

………………………………...

When the boys had been little, Ryosuke had showed high intelligence levels and advanced comprehension in academic fields. School was his limelight, and, needless to say, his parents were proud as could be. While not to say that his little brother was stupid, Takahashi Keisuke didn't exhibit the same excellence in grades as his brother. Ryosuke went to school to learn. It wasn't hard for him, and he was a little kid, he didn't understand the concept of objecting to it, anyway. Keisuke went to school because that's where Ryosuke was. If Ryosuke went somewhere, that's probably where Keisuke should be, as well. Besides, where would K.T. rather be than with Ry?

When the boys got older, Ry's attentions pivoted a tad (though still not to girls), and when Ry said, "Cars…" K.T. said, "Sure." If Ry liked racing, K.T. liked it twice as much. He liked it not only because it was fun, but because Ry liked it too. Street racing was where the nickname 'K.T.' actually started to appear. His name was just to long for his speed. He was there and gone before you could spit out the name 'Takahashi Keisuke.'

When the boys were all grown up, and Mother asked, "Future?" Ry said, "Schooling." K.T. said, "Racing." The division shocked parents that were used to bragging about sons that acted like twins, and who could be counted on to prove the 'monkey see, monkey do' theory. Ry had quickly remedied the thought of being separated by saying, "Schooling _and_ Racing," and everything was back to normal.

………………………………...

Ryosuke could hear Keisuke messing around in the basement below him. Lord could only know what he was doing down there with a bright yellow racecar and an old rusty trash can. Ry could see as his brother opened the trunk of his car, but what exactly it was that he pulled out of the trunk, he wasn't sure. Something big, made of chrome, and something moderately heavy by the looks of it. But since Ry was at the disadvantage of the slope, and the car was backed up to the garage entrance, the older Takahashi couldn't get a clear view of just _what_ his brother had been lugging around in that car of his. It rather worried the older boy, imagining what upgraded part his sibling happened to pick up this time and wanted to install on his already souped-up FD. Of course, it wasn't the fact that K.T. was attempting to possibly upgrade his car that worried Ry (Hell, the boy could do that with his eyes closed by now), but it was the fact that he apparently needed to light a fire to do it. Perhaps Ry had been doing one too many medical experiments out in the yard as of late…

………………………………...

But over time, beginning even back when they were little kids, it had always been noted how devoted Keisuke was to his beloved older brother, yet it hadn't been mentioned as many times just how much Ryosuke cared for the younger boy. When they saw K.T. following Ry's decisions and playing the part of the copycat, no one realized that the decisions Ry made were usually made only after he had entered in how it would affect K.T. The relationship was actually perfectly equal. Ry made his decisions, knowing that no matter what he chose, K.T. would follow suit. K.T. did as his brother did, knowing that his brother would never let his choices harm him. Every decision Ry made while drifting could determine whether his brother was alive by the end of the run or not. Every time K.T. chose to push the pedal and join in in the Parallel Drift, he was trusting his brother's sense as the leader.

………………………………...

K.T. had disappeared into the garage for, what seemed to be, good. He had lugged his large hunk of chrome in the garage, and had been in there in its company for about twenty minutes. Ry was somewhat curious about his actions, but he didn't want to go down just yet to check up on the younger boy. He knew that he had to learn to trust his sibling as much as he could trust himself, at least around his own _car_. If he wanted to use a trashcan, let him use a trash can. What the point of it was, Ry was still curious, but he was going to trust that nothing would explode. Hopefully.

The older brother stood and moved fully into the kitchen. He was still thinking about his brother's antics, but to quell his curiosity, he decided to pour himself a bowl of cereal. He made this decision because, even though he wasn't very hungry yet, he knew food would give him something to concentrate on, and in the case of K.T. needing any type of assistance, a bowl of cereal could easily be abandoned in favor of his brother; versus the commotion that would follow if Ry would happen to be cooking something during an emergency. Let it never be said that Takahashi Ryosuke doesn't think his actions over carefully, and let it never be said that his decisions are inconsiderate of his little brother.

………………………………...

The fact is that every thought in Takahashi Ryosuke's head can somehow be traced back to his brother, in reality. Racing? Keisuke and Ryosuke are on the same team. They even have their own racing _tricks_. Of _course_ Ry thinks about K.T. when he thinks about racing. You can't have one without the other. Cars? Same thing. Cars are nearly _synonymous_ with Keisuke. in Ry's mind. A car is only worth as much as it's driver, right? Family? Keisuke _is_ family. Keisuke is family, friend, roommate, and partner. If there is a relationship to that can be shared with another human being, chances are that Keisuke can fit the bill, though it must be said that both boys are still virgins. Medical school? Well, K.T. seems just to push his way into Ry's mind, no matter what thought he's breaking into, if he isn't there already. If Ry doesn't concentrate, his train of though can go from the 'brain surgery' track, to the 'loving little brother' track without much inertial resistance.

And again, the result is thoughts like '_Is there something the matter with him? Is something wrong?'_ inhabiting his mind.

………………………………...

A nap. Yes, a nap would be good. Ry needed a nap. He was complete in his studying, his car was in no need of any tuning, and he knew where his brother was and what he was up to (for the most part). In his mind, all of his highest priories were satisfied, and he was allowed a little free time. The fact that Ry used the only 'free time' he had _sleeping_ never really bothered the boy; he had just accepted it with the territory of being a student, a racer, and a brother.

Ry finished rinsing out his empty bowl and dried the container using one of the dishrags from the drawer, before walking down the hall to his own bedroom. He turned the knob absentmindedly, and lightly pushed open the door. His computer stared back at him from where its monitor had been left on from its previous use and, letting his mind wander a bit, he considered whether leaving it on during his nap would have any adverse affects, taking into consideration any electric bills or even the state of the computer itself.

But he had no use for thinking that deeply of such a trivial matter at the moment, and he quickly shut down the computer with a click of a few buttons, and promptly closed his bedroom door. He stripped off his button-up shirt, making himself more comfortable for rest. He sat upon the bed, removed his shoes, and climbed the rest of the way into his bed, under the covers in the blink of an eye, and under the spell of sleep within seconds.

………………………………...

Takahashi Ryosuke was never one to read too much into dreams. First off, he knew the scientific reasoning behind the dream sequence. It was just the re-organizing of recently active neurons in the brain. It was science. He had never been one to believe in all the old talk of omens and portents in dreams; in his eyes they were meaningless non-sense coming from a mind let loose of the controlling consciousness. Secondly, he never really remembered his dreams anyway. He would wake up with only thoughts of what he would have to do that day, or maybe even about what time it was, not of what he had been thinking when he was asleep; those thoughts never seemed to stick with him long. For having such a near perfect memory, Ry's mind cut a pretty poor figure when he was asleep.

K.T. was the same way. He believed in only the logic behind the dreams. He saw dreams only as idle brain activity that ought be ignored in want of less clutter in the head. The only difference between Ry and K.T. was that where Ry had nothing he could remember, K.T. could recall each and every detail down to the letter. Every morning K.T. would have a new story to tell at the breakfast table, while Ry sat and listened with one ear. The other would undoubtedly be aimed at the morning news or the voice mails from the last night.

K.T. had always found dreams interesting. Be them non-sense or no, he always liked to think them over and laugh at the antics his mind would make them commit. He hadn't always thought that dreams were pointless activity of the mind, though. When he was a child, he had believed that his dreams meant something. If he dreamt of his brother, he would keep a close eye on Ry the whole day to make sure there wasn't anything wrong. When he got a little older, he would see dreams of cars, and would see if he could decipher them to figure out if he was to win his races or not. He believed that déjà vu was directly tied to dreams and that dreams represented the deep thought of the subconscious, or even prophesies in some cases.

He stopped that way of thinking when Ry finally scolded him one evening before a race. K.T. had been talking about his 'prophetic' dream about cars, when Ry explained, perhaps a little forcefully, what exactly caused dream and how foolish K.T. sounded ranting on about his silly nightmares. K.T. understood. K.T. stopped considering his dreams as important or meaningful. K.T. became a little more like Ry; because that's the way he wanted to be.

………………………………...

Someone was rummaging. Takahashi Ry awoke to the sound of rummaging.

'_…What is K.T. doing in the fridge now?'_ Even in his half-conscious mind, he still could recognize the telltale noises of his brother in the kitchen. It took a moment before Ry recalled the events leading up to his nap, but when he did remind himself of his brother's antics, he was pinched by curiosity again. Were he curious about the going-ons in the life of any other person on the planet (which, granted, didn't happen often) he would have much sooner hid, curbed, or killed his curiosity, for such things were of little value to the scholarly 'White Comet.' But seeing as it was his little brother that had been acting strangely, and that the answer to his curiosity was most likely both in reach and easily procurable, Ry decided it was worth it to let himself be dragged around by an interest in someone else's business.

He stood from his bed, got fully dressed once again, and headed for the kitchen. Upon reaching the kitchen, Ry could see that he was correct in thinking that his brother was rummaging in the fridge, for 'rummaging' was all that could be said for the boy that was bent over, halfway lodged _in_ the refrigerator. He would quickly scour one drawer before turning his entire body to search through another. Every now and then the boy would find something that he was apparently looking for, and would set it beside him on the kitchen title. Ry soon realized that K.T. was creating an impressive stack of uncooked meat. Chicken mostly. Something that looked like a potatoes wrapped in foil sat on the counter. The older boy took action in the form of a blink or two before taking a few more steps into the room to further investigate.

"K.T, what are you doing with that?"

"Hey, Ry, you're up! Good, that means I won't have to wake you up." The younger brother closed the refrigerator door, and looked up to see Ry standing over him, one eyebrow quirked almost as if in concern.

"Actually, all your rummaging did wake me up. But really, what are you doing with that? You don't intend to cook all that in the oven, do you? That would involve me teaching you how to use it…" K.T. seemed a little put off at that comment, the smile on his face getting a little smaller.

"_No_, I don't intend to use the _oven_…" he said, drawing his words out with a slightly bitter tone, "But c'mon, you gotta see what I did!" Apparently his cheerful demeanor was back.

K.T. grabbed the meant that was still sitting messily on the floor, asked Ry to bring the vegetables that were lined up on the counter, and then rushed down the stairs and into the garage.

Sitting directly in front of him, Ry could see his white FC parked nicely. In the space next to it, where K.T.'s car should have been parked, Ry saw an assortment of tools and trash, including the hose and three packages of aluminum foil.

_'No wonder his car was left parked outside…' _Ry thought, slightly amused. K.T. walked straight past the mess, seemingly forgetting it was there. Before Ry could ask what the oddly strewn about clutter was for, K.T. had already made his way to the very front of the garage, and was walking out onto the pavement where, Ry remembered from the view from the window, the FD and the trash can sat. Only this time, Ry could see somewhat of a _change_ to the latter.

"K.T…what did you do to the burn barrel? …And why?" An idea was already forming in the older brother's mind as to what his sibling was up to regarding the food; that much was becoming evident, but now the question of 'what was the large object covered in foil?' was becoming quite the riddle.

"Hmm? Heh heh…" K.T. didn't quite answer Ry's question, but instead he simply let his brother walk over to find out for himself.

When Ry reached the pavement of the driveway, he got a better look at what was sitting atop the old trashcan, and waited a few seconds before turning to K.T. and asking, "…Is that a grill on there?"

K.T. smiled sheepishly, and nodded his head somewhat like a child would upon getting his new toy inspected by an adult.

"…K.T, where did you get that? And why do you have it?" Ry was looking at what was apparently a 'grill.' His thoughts of what his brother intended of doing with the food was turning out to be correct, as it seemed that K.T. planned to cook the food, and the question of 'what is that thing?' had been answered as well…and it brought quite a number of new questions with it.

Sitting on top of the old rusted trash can was a large object that, from a distance, would like quite a lot like a large hunk of metal covered in aluminum foil, but that, upon closer inspection, would look quite similar to the grill of a truck covered in aluminum foil.

"…The guy pissed me off…so I took his grill…I figured I could have some fun with it _somehow_." The explanation was lame, even in K.T.'s ears, but Ry didn't say anything, and instead he mentally noted that there was already a small fire going inside of the can.

"…So…what exactly happened, again?"

"Alright. I was down at the diner, and some asshole nearly cut me off. I was just about to pull into a spot, and he sped up and nearly pulled into me while he took my spot. So I flicked him off, and he got out and started screaming that it was my fault and that _I'm_ a bad driver…so I got back in my car, waited 'till he went into the building, and took his grill. Ford F150. I figured it was even more justified 'cause the bastard had an American-made…"

Ry listened to the story with raised eyebrows, already deciding that he was getting a good internal laugh from this affair. The irony of _Keisuke_ being called a bad driver…by a man that drove an American model pick-up truck, no less…it wasn't something that happened often, that was for certain. Ry knew that that kind of insult wasn't one that his little brother would take lightly, and if he was correct, getting the grill off one of those things was all a matter of popping off four bolts.

Ry sighed, and finally decided he could set down his potatoes.

"So…are you sure this thing is safe to cook on?" He asked, already knowing that that was the purpose of the thing.

"Well, I washed it (pretty thoroughly) and covered it in foil…that's good enough, right?" Ry lightly shrugged before nodding his head. Upon getting this tacit approval, K.T. continued a bit more freely. "Good. It better be enough, because this thing a was real bitch to haul around. I mean, you should have seen me walkin' across that parking lot to my car, carrying some guy's dirty old grill."

Ry smiled at the image, and K.T. figured that the fire had gotten high enough that they could begin cooking. They threw some potatoes in, and set some chicken on, and thus they began to have a good time.

………………………………...

Takahashi Ry may make all of his decisions by thinking about his brother, and K.T. may take things a little more seriously in hopes of becoming a little more like Ry's shadow, but that's not to say they don't have fun. In fact, the only real fun they have is with each other. Perhaps that's why racing's fun for them…and driving…and maybe even cooking.

* * *

AN: Yes, the Kitchen _is_ on the second floor. And thanks to Dan, (even though he'll never read this) for clarifying the means of dismantling a grill. "Not hard at all. Four bolts."


End file.
